Thread (1/9): On 19 Sept 1965, a civil Beech 18 aircraft operating over Kutch was shot down by a PAF F-86 Sabre, All occupants were killed incl the CM of Gujarat, B R Mehta, his wife, two civilians and three crew. The Pilot J M Engineer, Radio Offr A M D'Costa & Mech V B Thorat 
(2/10) Two days ago 19 Sept 2021, the daughter of Radio Offr AM D'Costa, Precy D'Costa made the journey to the memorial at the crash site, and paid tributes to the crew and occupants. Here she is with a floral wreath and a photo of her father (who as a navy veteran) on the marker
(3/10) She also carried with her a photo of Sqn Ldr J M Engineer, the pilot of the ill-fated Beech. "Jungoo" was the eldest of the legendary Engineer brothers. Jungoo fought to the last, piloting his stricken aircraft to the ground to save himself and the passengers.
(4/10) Precy asked Engineer's daughter for a photo that she could take to the site.. The @IAF_MCC had been magnificent in supporting Precy's journey..they made the arrangements and sent an officer as well who paid tribute to the only civilian flight crew lost on the front line
(5/10) In yet another unplanned twist to her journey, when Precy arrived at the memorial, she was greeted by the local Sarpanch and other villagers, as well as a reporter. They conduct a ceremony every year at this location on this date. They have not forgotten!
(6/10) Parts of this story is not new.. about ten years ago, we did our bit in connecting the PAF pilot involved in this incident and the daughter of J M Engineer , Mrs. Farida Engineer. Their tale of reconciliation has been told many times. dawn.com/news/655967/i-…
(7/10) Mrs Precy D'Costa connected with Mrs. Farida Engineer as well, and though Farida could not join her on the trip, Mrs Engineer was happy to know about the existence of this memorial at the crash site (Which not many are aware of, nor remember).
(8/10) But the villagers of Suthari have not forgotten and have taken it upon themselves year after year that these lives are not forgotten . And we wouldn't have known this but for one daughter's persistence to visit the site of the crash where her father lost his life..
(9/10) According to the locals, the memorial has been deteriorating and not much maintenance is done by the state government. They made a plea that it could be better looked after.
(10/10) Final credits - Thanks to Officers and Men of the @IAF_MCC for making this daughter's day on this solemn occasion and to Mrs. D'Costa for sharing her emotional journey with the rest of us. All Photos Courtesy of Mrs. D'Costa.
@IAF_MCC @threadreaderapp unroll
(11/n) Continuing the thread, the reporter who met Mrs D'Costa yesterday was Satish Thakkar and this is his report in the news paper "KUTCH MITRA". This was a bonus story that Mr Thakkar didnt know he was getting.. he was there originally to ....
(12/n) .. to cover the story of a local NGO "Prachin Kutch Khadi Gram Udyog Sangh, Kotara" who conducted the commemoration ceremony with school kids in attendance.. below is his report... There was also an eyewitness in attendance, Shri Pranjeevan Rajgor who was 10 years old ..
A few more photos of the event that took place prior to Mrs. D'Costa's arrival.
The last photo shows a row of three stones plaques of 1965 vintage? probably the original make shift memorial at the crash site.. the current memorial was probably built later (perhaps the 90s?).. Can anyone confirm? @CMOGuj @DefencePRO_Guj @GujaratTourism @GujaratHistory
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